Classic Gaming Sites

[Nyerguds]

yes, and you copied this corrupted bbcode to the PPM forum, where ftp links DO work correctly

[Tore]

Oh look the FTP links work

 

SMF misinterprets FTP links as HTTP links for some reason. So it uses instead of [ftp] -_-

[MrFlibble]

yes, and you copied this corrupted bbcode to the PPM forum, where ftp links DO work correctly

Yeah, not the first time this happens. After all, I've got several clones of this thread to update ^_^

 

BTW, it looks like the files at the Polish FTP are corrupted for some reason.

[MrFlibble]

There's a neat Italian site with lots of interesting (and sometimes rare) demos, but it's tough to browse because there is no easily accessible directory listing (or I haven't figured out how to get to it), and all the download links have to be edited manually to point to the site itself, because they point to a currently non-existing affiliate FTP. Directories of interest include:

 

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/msdos/games/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/msdos/games/arcade/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/msdos/games/demos/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win3xx/games/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win95/games/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win95/games/arcade/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win95/games/demos/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win95/games/rpg/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win95/games/strategy/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win98/games/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win98/games/arcade/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win98/games/demos/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win98/games/rpg/

http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win98/games/strategy/

 

Just remember, to download anything, copy the download link and change "ftp://ftp.volftp.mondadori.com/" to "http://volftp.tiscali.it/"

[Nyerguds]

Um, these links don't work either MrFlibble. They redirect to the main page unless you copy & paste them :|

 

How did you get to the links, btw? The ftp listing doesn't list directories, and the site makes me suspect the redirecting is because the original listings were shown in frames.

 

On 6/14/2012 at 1:42 AM, Tore said:

Oh look the FTP links work

 

SMF misinterprets FTP links as HTTP links for some reason. So it uses [url] instead of [ftp] -_-

I honestly don't see why the url tag would make a distinction between protocols anyway... it should work with irc:// too in my opinion.

[MrFlibble]

Um, these links don't work either MrFlibble. They redirect to the main page unless you copy & paste them :|

Yes, I should have mentioned that too. I told you the site isn't easy to browse.

 

How did you get to the links, btw? The ftp listing doesn't list directories, and the site makes me suspect the redirecting is because the original listings were shown in frames.

That is very likely. The site seems to have received little maintenance for a long time, which is a shame. They have some quite rare stuff out there. I found most directories by Googling (e.g. type a game title and see where it gets you). You can see that there's a typical structure for each OS, the other folders names I haven't mentioned are "/misc/" (e.g. http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows/win95/games/misc/), "/patches/", "/simulations/", "/duke/" (for Duke Nukem 3D extras ), as well as some others. There's also other software (not games) folders but I didn't bother with that. The genre categories are pretty loose so it's a good idea to browse through everything. The sort order is by file name, so you can get several demo versions of a single game in different places of a list, or in different folders entirely (the weirdo distinction between Win95 and Win98 contributes a lot to this).

 

BTW, there are some extras for C&C games scattered throughout the folders (editors, maps and stuff, I've taken notice of things for Red Alert 1 and 2, not sure about other games).

 

Oh yeah, and there are also other systems alongside the PC, namely Mac, Linux and Amiga.

 

This is a pretty handy Google query that helps unravel what other folders there are.

 

[Edit] Oh, they also have a separate WinNT 5.0 folder, how lovely.

 

These Romans are crazy! ©

[MrFlibble]

The Games Shed - a retro gaming blog that also includes a video section (and an affiliated YouTube channel).

[MrFlibble]

OCUK PC Games - ( INDIE ) ( RETRO ) Database

This is a list of over 300 retro indie games (both complete and WIP), including remakes of well-known PC and Amiga classics.

[MrFlibble]

Hallfiry, a retro gaming enthusiast and Blizzard Entertainment historian, has started up a website specifically for his huge collection of magazine cover CDs:

Kult Cover Disks

[MrFlibble]

Flight Sim Flypast

A nice place dedicated to old school flight simulators.

 

Classic Combat Flight Sims

Exactly what it says on the tin.

[MrFlibble]

NaSPA Software Library - Games

A collection of downloads at the website of the National Systems Programmers Association.

[MrFlibble]

The file archive at Demu.org had finally moved to the Classic PC Games collection at archive.org. It is now possible to browse games by various criteria, including year of release and developer/publisher, but thumbnail view is no longer available.

 

The original Demu.org website is now primarily focused on game research.

[MrFlibble]

An interesting collection of videos:

Shareware Oddities

Obscure DOS Games

[MrFlibble]

Bumping this as possibly the most appropriate place to post, I've just stumbled upon what seems to be an accuratemirror of Westwood Studios FTP:

ftp://ftp1.westwood.com/pub/

 

Anyone knows if this is an official thing (an alias of ftp.westwood.com perhaps?) or some mirror maintained by enthusiasts?

[FunkyFr3sh]

that is the official site, just a different sub domain

[Nyerguds]

It still seems to switch between the two; I got the EA games listing.

 

Anyway, since it's still on the .westwood.com domain it can't be a fan thing. EA still owns that domain.

[MrFlibble]

Added the following sites to the list, all three courtesy of Hallfiry:

Hallfiry's CD Index

Kult Cover Disks - The Cover CD & Magazine Archive!

Kult Game Downloads

 

Details on each site are in the first post.

[Nyerguds]

Hallfiry's site is a great resource

[Nyerguds]

On 3/31/2011 at 3:30 PM, MrFlibble said:

Behind this site is an extensive agenda of preservation of old games (DOS and Windows), and thanks to the initiative of the site's author some old titles have been officially released into public domain by their respective developers following Internet petitions.

Oh, interesting.

Talking about liberated games, have you seen these?

http://www.oldgamesitalia.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=16027&st=0

[fir3w0rx]

When it comes legally purchased classic video games, I think GOG is the best.

But, not to be cheap or anything, abandonware websites and torrents are unfortunately the much better option. If I didn't already have the massive collection of classic video games that I have (DOS, arcade/console ROMs, early Windows titles, Game&Watch...), I'd be glad to pay a lot of money for them. But that said, I have purchased a lot of video games throughout the years and continue to when I want to support a game series or developer.